You're Not in This Alone

The building we stopped at was a small drug store. Inside we found a bag for Sarah to carry. We decided that I would carry the food and water, Sarah would carry more food and other supplies like flashlights, a lighter, toothbrushes, and so on, and Ebony would carry our changes of clothes.

By the time we were done searching for what we needed, it was getting dark. “Where are we going to sleep?” Sarah asked Ebony. I smiled. Sarah was learning that Ebony was usually in charge of where we went.

Sarah wasn’t a bad addition to our little group. In fact, I liked her, and I could see that Ebony did too. She was bright and intelligent for her age. The way she thought and talked to us reminded me of the way Ebony and I had communicated when we were her age. It was like there was something about each of us that separated us from normal people and united us. I guess it must’ve been our special abilities.

“I’m not sure,” Ebony answered Sarah.

“Do you know which way we should go?” I asked.

She nodded, and none of us needed to say anything else. We followed her down the street. Within minutes we stood outside the door of a fancy-looking hotel. “Here we are,” she declared.

We went inside and took a room key for a room on the first floor from behind the front desk. I almost suggested that Sarah get a separate room than Ebony and I, but I knew it wouldn’t be right to make her sleep in a room all by herself. Who knew what kind of nightmares a child her age could have after seeing what had happened to the world. So I sighed inwardly and helped them find the room.

The room had two large beds. Sarah set her bag down on the green couch and Ebony and I followed suit. Ebony pulled the curtain away from the window to let in what little sunlight there was left since the electricity wasn’t working.

They both sat down, but I glanced at the bathroom, knowing the shower wouldn’t work. “How are we going to wash ourselves off?” I wondered out loud. It had been a few days since any of us had had a shower.

“I don’t know,” Ebony admitted, looking dejected.

“You don’t know?” Sarah echoed in surprise.

Ebony hung her head. I knew she felt like she was letting us down. I went to her and put my arm around her shoulder. “It’s not your fault,” I told her firmly. “You don’t control how it works. Sometimes we’re going to have to depend on our natural knowledge, not your supernatural knowledge.”

She leaned into me, but she didn’t answer. Sarah was also silent. I kissed Ebony’s cheek and stood up, suddenly smiling. I had an idea. “Get some flashlights and a change of clothing,” I ordered. “Let’s find this hotel’s indoor pool. We’re going swimming.”

Ebony and Sarah both smiled at the same time. I was just happy I’d made Ebony feel better. It wasn’t right for her to feel like we completely depended on her. We grabbed soap and towels from our hotel room’s bathroom.

It took us an hour to find the pool in the dark with only our flashlights to light the way for us. Luckily the whole pool room was empty of bodies, so it would be sanitary to swim.

“You can go first, Sarah,” I said. “Ebony and I will wait for you in the changing room.”

“You can borrow some of my clothes,” Ebony offered, handing her a clean change of clothes. “They’ll be big, but it’ll be better than nothing. We should get you some new clothes tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she agreed softly, and we left her a flashlight by the pool and went to the changing room.

I sat on the floor with my back against the lockers, and Ebony slid down next to me. I squeezed her hand. “Do you think she can hear us?” I asked her.

She laughed and replied, “I’m sure she can, but we could always talk like she can’t. I bet she's used to it.”

I grinned, saying, “I guess so. Well, I like her.”

“So do I,” Ebony told me. The flashlight reflected off of her dark brown eyes and made them look even more beautiful than in daylight.

I was abruptly overwhelmed with how much I loved her. We hadn’t been alone all day, and I missed it. I turned off the flashlight right after pressing my lips against hers. I brushed her neck with my fingers, silently telling her I loved her. As quietly as I could, I whispered to her, “Are we bathing together or separately?”

She tried to keep herself from giggling, but she couldn’t do it. She pushed me away playfully. After composing herself, she replied, “Separately. Now more than ever we have to be responsible. Not to mention that we have to set a good example for Sarah. She can hear us now, you know.”

I sighed, and after planting another kiss I admitted, “I know. Sorry. You can go next.”

She held my hand, and w e waited for Sarah silently from then on. When Sarah returned in Ebony’s clothes with dripping wet hair, Ebony went to the pool room. Sarah sat across from me on the cold tile floor.

After looking at me warily for a few minutes, she asked, “Do you really like me?”

“Of course.” I smiled reassuringly.

She still didn’t look convinced. “Don’t you wish it was just you and Ebony? Doesn’t it annoy you that you can’t talk to her without me hearing?”

I laughed, replying, “A little. But to tell the truth, we’ve only had each other all our lives. It’s nice to find someone else who relates to us like you do, even if you are only ten.”

Mischief glinted in her dark eyes. “I might only be ten, but I’ve heard a lot more than a ten year old is supposed to… much more. I know a lot more about the world and the way life works than a lot of adults. You and Ebony really don’t have to be careful what you say around me. If you ever wanted, I could leave you two alone for a little while. All you have to do is ask. I don’t want to be a burden,” she said understandingly.

I frowned. “Sarah, you’re not a burden,” I assured her. “We just have to get used to having you around.”

She smiled. “Thanks. I hear Ebony,” she said, changing the subject. “She’s almost done, and she’s getting dressed. You could probably go in now.”

I thanked her and entered the pool room. Ebony was just pulling on her last article of clothing: her shirt. She rolled her eyes at me and wrung out her hair. “What, was I taking so long you couldn’t wait?”

“No,” I retorted defensively. “Sarah heard that you were almost done.”

“Oh,” she said curtly.

She kissed me on the lips, and I said, “Now go tell Sarah she’s not imposing on us at all and that she’s completely welcome to stay with us as long as she wants.”

Ebony nodded and went into the changing room, and I was alone. I undressed and got into the pool. The water was ice cold.

I washed myself as best as I could, but the chlorine stuck to my skin when I got out. As I dried off, I wondered if the chlorine would be a very bad thing. It’s better than being dirty, I reasoned with myself.

After I was dressed we went to our room and ate a meager dinner of cold canned beans and spaghetti o’s. “Room service would’ve been great,” I muttered bitterly after taking my last bite of beans. The others agreed, but we had to eat something.

At last we went to bed. Sarah slept in one bed, while Ebony crawled into the other next to me. I wrapped my arms around her, and she laid on top of me. We waited silently for several minutes. Finally she whispered, “She’s asleep.”

She kissed me, and I kissed back. This was one of those kisses where we tried to drive away each other’s pain and take the weight of the world off of each other’s shoulders.

“I love you,” I whispered into her ear. “I wish I could do more than tell you. I wish there was a way I could show you how much.”

“Being here is enough for me,” she murmured. “I wish there was some way I could prove to you how much I love you.”

“You already have,” I replied gently.

We said goodnight to each other, and she fell asleep on top of me with her head in the crook of my neck.

I dreamt of the fire again that night, but this time I saw it reflecting off of water. I also saw silhouettes blocking the light, and it looked like they were struggling.

Then I saw Sarah clutching her ears and looking like she was in pain. After that I heard a voice. It was a young man’s voice, but I couldn’t tell what he was saying.

Once again, I saw the fire. But this time I felt it, and it was unbearably hot. It was burning my mind, and I couldn’t escape. At last, Ebony woke me up.